Childhood
by Slagathor
Summary: Ever wonder why Atticus is the way he is now? Terribly written fanfic for NaNoWriMo and school!
1. Chapter 1

This is just something I did for school, I thought it could be considered "fanfiction." I included this in NaNoWriMo (I'm BadLuckTuck…someone got Slagathor!) But yeah, enjoy!

"C'mon, Alex, we're going to be late for school!"

Alexandra Finch stepped out of the doorway with a pout on her face. She was wearing a neat blue dress and nice shoes, much too fancy for going to a school in Maycomb county.

"I was tryin' on Ma's lipstick," she said, puckering her lips which were an ungodly shade of red.

"Aw, hush, Al," said Jack Finch, who also appeared in the doorway, eating an apple. "You're not even thirteen, Ma's gonna have a fit when she sees those chili peppers you call lips!"

It was Jack Finch's first day of school. The middle child, Atticus Finch, was told to keep an eye out on him. "I don't want no older children picking on him," said his mother the night before. "As long as you're going to that school, you should keep an eye out on your brother." Atticus was starting the fourth grade at Maycomb County School, while his big sister was a seventh grader at the Junior High. Atticus was sure that Jack would be fine, he had a big sense of humor and could laugh his way out of anything. But then again, it was his baby brother. Why risk anything?

"Why do I have to take this from some first-grade baby?"

"'Cause Ma said she wanted all of her sons to behave!"

"You callin' me a man, you slug?"

Atticus was worried that at this rate, they would never get to school. "Guys…"

"Shoot, no! If anythin', I'd say you look like a monkey!"

Atticus quickly grabbed Alexandra's hand right before she slugged her younger brother. "C'mon, guys, we have to get to school! Imagine what the teacher's gonna think if Jack walked in late with a shiner!" Alexandra shot Jack a dirty look as they both walked off.

Chapter 2 is coming up… 


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, Chapter 2. Wow, what a wait, huh? Haha…

School was going pretty good for the Finch children. Jack wasn't causing too much trouble, Atticus was getting good grades, and Alexandra was hanging out with other girls who snuck on make-up and gossiped. Atticus, in his opinion, wasn't too fond of that Stephanie girl. She gossiped about everyone and everything, and stretched the truth like taffy. It wasn't until the fall that things started to change. It was when Alexandra had Stephanie over for supper, and the topic became that of a man that worked for the school. "Mister Al Kirkland. He's the black fella who cleans up the Junior High school after the lights go off and even the teachers have left. I kid you not, I once snuck back in there to grab my arithmetic book, and I saw him…eatin' a poor little kitten! I didn't say nothin', course, but I saw him eat that kitty-cat like it was a turkey dinner! I swear, I almost upchucked on the spot!" Her eyes narrowed, and she lowered her voice. "It wasn't until I was running outta that place that I saw it was a full moon. Then I realized…" she glanced at Jack, who was leaning in with interest. "Mister Kirkland is a _wizard_! Only them magic people can eat kittens on a full moon! I didn't even know blacks had magic abilities! But still…" This time she looked over at Atticus, who was staring at her in disbelief. "Who in their right mind would wanna be friends with a wizard?"

"I would."

Jack, Alexandra, and Stephanie all turned to the source of the voice: Atticus.

"Huh, you'd wanna befriend a wizard, huh? What if he turned you into a frog?"  
"I always wanted to see what a frog sees. I think I'd get used to hoppin' on lily pads and eatin' flies. But I doubt that if Mister Kirkland was my friend as a human that he'd fancy me as a frog."

Stephanie grimaced and turned to Alexandra. "You sure have a weird brother. What'd you say his name was?"

Alexandra glared at Atticus. "Atticus Finch, even his name is weird."

"You're name's the same as mine, sis."

"Only the 'Finch' part, stupid," retorted Alexandra.

"You're the stupid one."

"How am I stupid?"

"Because you probably wouldn't give Mister Kirkland a chance, if he was a wizard, black, or fairy!"

Alexandra didn't say anything for a while. Then she spoke: "You're dang right I wouldn't give him a chance. He's different, and who wants to be around someone like that? That's why you don't see no blacks in your class, as your teacher, or as the governor. That's why they're the custodians, cooks, and farmers. Just realize that this is the Status Quo, you stupid idiot!"

Atticus didn't say anything, he just pushed back his chair and left to his room. As he sat on his bed, he thought of what his sister had said. How can one judge someone on their skin? Weren't they all humans? He sighed, and went to bed. Hopefully Stephanie and her racist stories will be gone when he opened his eyes.

**No, I didn't get the name "Al Kirkland" from "Axis Powers Hetalia," what are you talking about…okay, I couldn't think of a good name!!!**


	3. Chapter 3

It was Spring, and Atticus was about to end his fourth grade year. Atticus and Alexandra had a strained relationship after the events at the dinner table last fall. This only made Alexandra even closer to the girls at school, and Atticus was more focused on his schoolwork. Ever since that incident, he started to notice stuff about the people of Maycomb County. And it wasn't just in Mister Kirkland's case. The garbage collector, the housekeepers, they were all treated with no respect. And he had yet to see anyone with these jobs that was white. He also heard crazy stories going around about the minority group.

_Carl's got a funny leg 'cause he was too busy chattin' with the white gals, he didn't see that bullet go straight into that thing!_

Keesha's gonna be licked tonight—I heard that instead of doing the laundry, she decided to go to church instead. The nerve of her, Mr. Cunningham needed that one shirt for a very important supper to attend, his boss was counting on him to wear that shirt! Now he might just loose his job!

_What was crazy, he thought, was the fact that they were considered to be "bad." What was bad? Atticus had grown up to believe that robbing was bad, shooting mockingbirds was bad, that lying and killing was bad…was being black also bad? He didn't think so. Why were people being so rough on them for doing stuff normal people did everyday? That was when Atticus made an important decision. He decided to wait until supper to announce it to his family. He wondered how they would take it._

When supper was served, grace was said, and the family went to start eating, Atticus stood up.

"I'm going to be a lawyer."

No one paid any attention, and continued eating their supper.

"Didn't you hear me? I said, 'I'm going to be a lawyer.'"

"Oh, hush, we heard you," said Alexandra. "To protect your black wizard friends, am I right?"

Atticus had a serious look upon his face, and turned to her.

"I'm not doing it to protect the blacks, whites, or anyone else. I'm doing it to help Maycomb County."

"Hah, how can you protect Maycomb County? Shoot, you're not even in the fifth grade! And from what, may I ask, are you protecting it from?"

"What's bad and what's good. If a white man kills his wife, and I can prove it, I'll go against him in court. If a black man shoots another man for no reason, and I can prove that, I'll go against him as well. Whoever's innocent, I'll find innocent. Whoever's guilty, I'll find guilty. Color shouldn't have any push or pull inside a courtroom."

Atticus sat down, and started to eat his dinner. Alexandra stared at him for the longest time before she finally said, "Well, I guess there's no convincing you now. I'll just wait till you get older, and you forget all about this stupid idea."

_Jack looked at his siblings from across the table, "Did I ever mention I want to be a doctor?"_

**I hope this was good! :'D**


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